Door lock



c3- A. DIES DOOR Loox Mwl, 1938.

Filed Feb. 10, 1937 'atented May 31, 1938 UNITED VSTATES PATENT OFFICE DOOR LOCK Charles A. Dies, Chicago, Ill.

Application February 10, 1937, Serial No. 125,142.

s claims.

My invention is an improvement in door locks, mdrelates to the general class of latches in :ontradistinction to the use of sliding bolts In :onnection with ordinary door locks.

It is customary to provide the doors of apartments and other dwelling houses, as well as stores, with locking means yin addition to the ordinary mortised lock having a spring-actuated latch and sliding bolt, for further security, and

lt is Ytherefore the main purpose of my invention construction that will not only dispense with the use of springs, that 'are liable to get out of order, but will also include peculiar means for raising and lowering the latch plate movable into locking position by gravity.

With these principal objects in view my invention contemplates the provision of a vertically sliding latch plate enclosed within a casing secured to the inner side of the doorv and having projecting hook shaped members adapted to engage loops in a keeper plate, in association with a turnbutton for manipulating the latch plate from the inner side of the door, and a removable key for operating the turnbutton from the outer side of the door, as hereinafter fullydescribed and specifically set forth in the appended claims. v

In the accompanying drawing:l

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a door lock constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical rsectional view o'n the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Y

Fig. '3 is a detail sectional view of the lock on the line 3-3 of Fig; 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the sliding latch plate.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the turnbutton forming a part of the lock. l i

Fig. 6 is an end view of the turnbutton,

Fig. 'I is an end view of a turnbutt'on illustrating a modification of the key hole, and

Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views of diierent forms of keys usable in connection with the lock.

In carrying out my invention I employ a twopart casing comprising a at plate I0, to bear against the door Il, and a housing plate I2 having opposite anges I3 by which it is attached to the aforementioned plate by studs I4, with screw holes I5 through the-plates for attachment of the lock casing to the door as by means of screws I6, and within this casing there is slidably mounted a latch plate I1 having hookshaped members I8, I8 projecting from one end of the lock casing to engage a keeper plate I9 lhaving spaced apart loops 20, with which the hooks of the latch engage. For guiding the latch plate in the lock casing there is a vertical rib 2| formed on the plate I0 received in a vertical groove 22 in said latch plate, and in order that this latch plate may be reversed for application to a door opening either to the left or right it is provided with grooves, 22, at opposite sides thereof. The latch plate has free movement in the casing so that it will drop by gravity into engagement with the loops of the keeper plate, and therefore it is desirable to have a thick plate for the required weight in operation.

To raise and lower the latch plate it is provided with an opening '23 to receive the shank 24 and lug of a turnbutton 26, the shank extending through the cover plate I2 and being of such length as to locate the knob away from the lock casing for manipulation, with a sleeve 21 interposed between the knob and lock casing. By` reference to the drawing it will be noted that the opening in the latch plate is of a particular shape for the operation of the lug on the turnbutton; that is to say, the opening is of a width vertically to correspond with the length of the lug and cross-section of the shank, and has converging curved YWalls or lug engaging surfaces 28, V28 extending outwardly from a straight wall 29 at the opposite side of the lug from said curved walls, with the latch plate conned to a direct vertical movement by the rib or spline hereinbefore referred to. It is preferable to have straight horizontal walls immediately above and below the shank and lug between the curved walls and vertical wall referred to, so that when the lug is turned upward to raise the latch, or. downward to lower'the latch, the turning of this turnbutton by accidental movement of the latch plate, especially` in the raised positionof the latter, will be prevented, and the lowerstraight horizontal Wall will prevent lifting of the latch plate to unlock the door independently of a manual operation of the turnbutton, asfor instance by an instrument passed through the crack between th e door and jambj As will be obvious, the straight wall 29 limits the throw of the lug to one direction or towards the curved walls with which its outer end engages in the normal operation of the latch plate. y

The turnbutton provides for operating the slidable latch plate from the inner side of the door,

and it will be noted by reference to Fig. 3 that' when the latch plate is raised as shown in dotted `,lines, in unlocked position with respect to the keeper plate, it rests directly on the outer yend of the vlug so as to be firmly supported thereby, and to lock the door the turnbutton is given a half turn clockwise so as to release the latch plate and permit it to drop by gravitation, the lug then being in the position shown in full lines to prevent raising said latch plate in .any other manner than by means of the turnbutton.

To operate the turnbutton or lug from 'the outer side of the door itis only necessary to provide the inner end of the shank with means for the engagement of a key that will actto manipulate said turnbutton, as for instance a keyhole, such as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, may be formed directly in the end of the shank, and either astraight key, (Fig. 9), or a key having a flexible shaft 3| (Fig. 8) used in connection therewith. When a key with a flexible intermediate portion or shaft is used the opening through the door for the insertion of the key to engage the turnbutton is serpentine, as shown in Fig. 2, thus requiring a key oi this kind to be used in the operation of the lock. ToI provide a serpentinepassagewayfor the flexible key I employ a bent tube 32, and for convenience 'in applying this tube to the door it is Welded in a cylindrical bushing 33 inserted in a corresponding opening through the door and held in place from being withdrawn from the outer side of said doorvby a circumferential flange -34 at its inner end. By this arrangement it is only necessary to drill a straight hole through the door to receive the bushing and countersink the inner end of the hole to receive the flange so that the lock casing will retain'the bushing inplace, the usual escutcheon 35 being secured at the outer side of the door to cover the outer end-of the bushing.

Instead of operating the turnbutton by the simple means of a keyhole in the end of the shank of said turnbutton I prefer to provide the shank with a turnable member requiring several turns of the key before positive operative engagement of the parts. This arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawing in which the shank 36 of the turnbutton is recessed at its inner end vto receive' an internally threaded collar 31 fixed therein to terminate a short distance from the inner end of the recess, and in connection with this collar there is a' turnable plug 38 having a keyhole 39 at its outer end and a peripheral flange 40 at its inner end, the latter playing in the space between the collar and inner end of the recess so that several turns of the .V plug will be required before it will abut against shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

' lower the latch plate will require the key to be turned several times counterclockwise or until From the foregoing description, in connection v,

l,with the accompanying drawing, it. will be seen that I provide a very simpleform of door lock in which the hooks of a vertically movable latch plate engage loops of'a keeper plate onrthe door jamb to securely fasten or lock the door closed, and that to unlock the door from the inner side the turnbutton is manipulated to liftthe latch plate, while from the outer side of the door it will require a key to operate the turnbutton, the locking of the door from the inner or outer side thereofbeing accomplished in like manner to lower the latch plate. In either position of the latch plate it is firmly held by the lug projecting in a vertical plane from the shank of the turnbutton. Although the weight of the latch plate will cause it to be lowered by gravity lt will be noted that this operation is also eifected by the lug of the turnbutton engaging the lower curved wall of the opening in said latch plate, and in locking the door the turnbutton should be operated for the positioning of the lug vertically to prevent lifting of the latch plate by way of the projecting hooks. In other words, when a door is locked by means of my improved slidable latch plate and turnbutton it can be unlocked only by the operation of the turnbutton,

and by providing the serpentine passageway for the key there is additional security against any one breaking into the building, for this will not only require the use of a flexible key but the winding passageway obscures sight of the keyhole. Furthermore, any attempt to open the door by one unfamiliar with the operation of the lock would be met by the peculiar key engaging means associated with the turnbutton requiring several turns of the key, thus serving to confuse the person making the attempt.

The lock may be used as a fastening means lh addition to the ordinary mort'ised lock, or as the only means for locking av door, swinging window,

or other movable part of a building or other structure.

vI claimz- 1. A door lock comprising a casing, a vertical spline on one of the plates thereof, a latch plate slidable vertically in the casing and having vertical grooves in opposite sides thereof cooperating with the spline for adapting said latch plate to be reversed in the casing to accommodate doors opening to the right or left, hook-shaped members4 projecting from the latch plate beyond the casing for engagement with a keeper plate, an opening in the center of the latch plate, and a turnable element having a lug working in the opening to engageA the yupper and lower edgesy of said opening for raising and lowering the latch plate coacting to hold the latter in the respective positions thereof.

' 2. A door lock comprising a casing, a latch plate slidable vertically in the casing and having members projecting therefrom to engage a keeper plate, an opening through the latch plate presenting spaced apart upper and lower walls, a

turnbutton having a shank extending into the lock casing, a lug projecting from the shank and working in the opening between the aforesaid upper and lower walls of the latch plate to raise and lower the same, a recess in the inner end of the lug, a threaded plug turnable in the recess for independent longitudinal movement therein,v

movement of the-llt.

keeper plate. un opening throulh the latch plate pprennsmd'spertnppermdlomnlls. 

